A
screen reader converts text to audio or braille. Support for screen readers is
critical for digital accessibility, and screen readers play a crucial role in
accessibility testing, even for WordPress accessibility plugins.
Why Are Screen Readers Necessary for
Accessibility?
First,
you must understand that not all screen readers operate in the same way, and
not all screen reader users have significant visual disabilities.
Apple
VoiceOver, JAWS, and NVDA are the most popular screen readers, but dozens of other
options exist. These applications have varying features and capabilities, but
they are all intended to be assistive technologies. Assistive technologies
improve accessibility for people with disabilities, and the majority of screen
reader users indeed have vision-related conditions. According to a 2019 survey
conducted by WebAIM, 76 percent of screen reader users with disabilities were
blind, while 18.5 percent had low vision or other visual impairments.
However,
some screen reader users have neurocognitive conditions or other disabilities
that affect their browsing behavior — and approximately 12.4 percent of
respondents said they use screen readers but not for any specific disability.
Screen
reader use has grown in recent years: products such as Apple's VoiceOver can be
helpful when accessing mobile devices in certain situations (for instance, when
operating a vehicle). In other words, if your content cannot be accessed using
a screen reader, you have a problem.
Screen readers can reveal serious accessibility
flaws.
Fortunately,
the WCAG provides a framework for creating content compatible with screen
readers and other assistive technologies and browsing behaviors.
When
using a screen reader, experienced testers can identify WCAG conformance issues
such as:
●
Image
alternative text is missing (or alt text)
●
Keyboard
traps and other stumbling blocks to navigation
●
Incorrect,
misleading, or misapplied heading tags
●
WAI-ARIA
implementation is invalid.
●
Semantic HTML
is invalid.
While
automated accessibility testing may detect some of these issues, a manual
screen reader test provides a more thorough assessment of a page's
accessibility. Remember to choose a WordPress accessibility plugin that helps
with these.
Even
if those issues do not violate WCAG checkpoints, web admins must address them
to provide the best possible experience to all users. In addition, experienced
screen reader users can offer remediation advice and explain how the barriers
affect users.
Comments
Post a Comment